


Baxter

by there_are_no_strangers



Category: Chris Evans - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-15 22:09:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9259520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/there_are_no_strangers/pseuds/there_are_no_strangers





	

Baxter  
By: there-are-no-strangers

Chris walked out of the shop carrying his bag of food. He knew the cheeseburger and fries weren’t supposed to be on his workout diet but he was desperate for something sinful. And one cheat couldn’t hurt. 

He dropped his keys and as he bent over to pick them up he was run over by a beautiful black Labrador retriever. He fell to the ground, fries spilling out of the white paper bag and the dog circled back, gobbling up the tasty bits of potatoes from the sidewalk. Chris quickly grabbed the bag to protect his burger and instinctively reached for the dog’s leash so he wouldn’t wander away.

Chris struggled to stand with his burger bag and keys in one hand and leash in the other when he heard a feminine voice calling in the distance “Baxter, where are you boy? Baxter?” Chris plopped back down on his ass and pulled the dog closer, looking at the tags around his neck. 

“Baxter, someone is looking for you. Should we go find her boy? She’s looking for you.” Chris spoke to the dog as if it was his own child, playfully rubbing his head and neck with both hands, completely abandoning his dinner.

He looked up when a petite brunette came into his sight. “Baxter? Omigosh Baxter where are you?” She still hadn’t seen the dog sitting with Chris and was frantically scanning the area.

“I think I found your dog. Or your dog found me.” Chris called out to the woman barely taking his eyes off the lab. He continued to talk to the dog and stroke his coat, laughing when he got sweet dog kisses from the belly rubs he gave to Baxter.

The woman approached at a full run, “I’m so sorry. I’m dog sitting for my friend and I’m a little out of my depth.” Chris looked up and saw a mixture of panic and hesitation in her dark chocolate colored eyes.

She bent at the waist taking in deep breaths. “I stopped to tie my shoelaces and he saw something and ran and pulled the leash right out of my hand.” She spoke unevenly through deep breaths. “I chased him for 8 blocks. I thought I lost him.” 

Chris watched her while she spoke, mindlessly scratching behind Baxter’s ears. The dog seemed to like Chris because he sat on the sidewalk quietly allowing Chris full access to pet or scratch or stroke to his heart’s content. And Chris was enjoying it every bit as much as he was enjoying watching the dog’s mistress try to catch her breath and explain her situation.

 

Despite her obvious distress, she was quite lovely and captivating. She had a small frame so Chris could see how the large dog could have easily pulled away from her. Still. “You know, if Baxter is too strong for you to handle you probably shouldn’t be walking him out in public.” Chris turned his attention back to the dog, unable to avoid the cute canine. Dogs were his weakness.

“I wasn’t really walking him in public. I took him to the pet store because we were out of food. My friend Samantha told me I could take him with me. I was walking him through the parking lot when he bolted.” She tried to defend herself then got a little upset that this stranger was criticizing her for something that had been accidental.

“You know I appreciate that you got Baxter and held him for me but I really don’t think it’s your place to criticize the way I’m caring for him. My friend was in a bind so I volunteered to help her. I’ve never had a dog; I don’t know what to do.”

“I’m sorry. I’m a dog lover so I tend to be overprotective with them.” Chris pushed himself up from the sidewalk, reaching his hand out to give her the leash when he saw that her hand was bleeding. “Wow, is that from the leash?”

She looked down and noticed the injury for the first time, running the fingers of her other hand over the raw bleeding skin. “I guess my adrenaline kicked in. I didn’t even feel it.”

Chris felt bad that he chewed her out. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to be so harsh on you really. Baxter is a big dog. How about I give you a hand with him while your friend is out of town?”

She eyed him warily. “What’s in it for you?”

“Well, I get to spend time with a beautiful black lab and a gorgeous brunette. We should really get some bandages and ointment for your hand. My jeep is just around the corner. There’s a pharmacy two blocks away and then I can take you to your car. Or we could go get some dinner.”

She smiled at him. “I don’t know you. Isn’t that sort of dangerous?”

“Baxter doesn’t think I’m dangerous, maybe you can take a chance.” He laughed and extended his hand. “I’m Chris and I promise I’m not dangerous. I just want to help.”

She smiled back at him as they walked toward his jeep. “You look really familiar. Have we met?”


End file.
